Yesterday I ran the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon, an annual 10k race that takes place here in Dublin. This is the second time I’ve run this race, and was the first big race in my Dublin Marathon training plan.

In the lead up to the race I was battling a lot of inner negativity, questioning my abilities and my goals and generally berating myself for daring to run. Luckily I recognised what I was doing to myself and spent a week trying to drag myself out of that negative place and into my usual confident self. I’m happy to say I’m winning that battle, but on the eve of the race I wondered if I had started to win it too late. Would all that negativity I poured out on myself affect how I ran it?